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PSYCHOLOGICAL SAFETY IN COLLEGIATE ATHLETICS: HOLISTIC EXAMINATION OF THE “STUDENT-ATHLETES”

Abstract

Andre George Simmond, Kofan Lee, Thomas L. Andre. University of Mississippi, University, MS.

BACKGROUND: Sports are an integral part of society and culture. College athletes work year to year to maintain their place in their teams and subsequently face high levels of stress with the demands of a student-athlete . Attention of media outlets with athletes using their voices to speak on issues outside of the context of sport have further increase potential stress in college athletes. The NCAA stands by the term “student-athlete” which is a holistic conceptualization of the individual (e.g., athlete well-being, athletic performance, and the student). With that, and the shift of athletes focusing on issues that are not just between the lines of play, developing an environment (e.g., psychologically safe) that is conducive to these changes (e.g., athletes voicing concerns, athletes wanting to engage in the community) is essential to the positive development of student-athletes. Psychologically safe environments have been found to lead to positive outcomes at both the individual and team level, including performance and satisfaction. To that, the purpose of this study is to examine the construct of psychological safety and its influence on the outcomes team performance, athlete athletic satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior and athlete psychological well-being. Psychological safety has been examined in the context of organizational teams and this study looks to build on develop the literature of psychological safety in the context of athletics. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey via Qualtrics will be used to measure participants’ psychological safety, team performance, athletic satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior and psychological well-being. Demographic information such as division affiliation, classification, sport type, gender and ethnicity will also be collected. We plan to recruit 300 total male and female NCAA collegiate athletes at Division 1, 2 and 3 programs in the United States. The participants will be recruited through contact with university administrators via electronic mail. Players under the age of 18 were excluded from participation. Results will be analyzed using a multivariate regression analysis. The analysis will be run in order to show its predictive impact of psychological safety on team performance, athletes’ athletic satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior and athletes well-being. ANTICIPATED RESULTS: It is hypothesized that high levels of psychological will positively influence the outcomes of team performance, athletic satisfaction, organizational citizenship behavior and psychological well-being. Grant Information: Potential 2021 NCAA Graduate Student Research Grant

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